Environment Canada has recognized the value of conserving land within the Powell River region as part of its Ecological Gift Program (EGP).
As the hours ticked down toward the end of 2015, Malaspina Land Conservancy Society (MLCS) heard that its request to be accepted as a potential recipient through the program had been granted.
Under the program an individual can apply to receive the fair market value for their donated or conserved land as an income tax rebate to be used over 10 years.
Financial incentive had been missing for landowners, even though they might have believed in conserving their land for the benefit of biodiversity and generations to come.
The program opens the door for anyone hesitating over preserving their land, because of a perceived drop in that land’s value, to step up and go ahead.
MLCS formed as a non-profit in 2008 and became a registered charity in 2010. It grew out of a realization that in order for landowners to consider conserving their land, they needed to know their options for doing so.
More than 30 land conservancies across BC and hundreds more nationwide and internationally are all guided by policies and procedures, yet each land conservancy has its own mission and vision for its particular geographic area.
For MLCS, its mission is to protect natural, agricultural, scenic, scientific and recreational lands within the Powell River region through the use of conservation covenants, land acquisition and education.
The EGP acknowledges landowners as playing a crucial role in habitat conservation. The land must be recognized by the Minister of Environment as land of ecologically sensitive significance. According to the ministry’s information literature, since the program was created in 1995, more than 175,000 hectares of land have been protected as ecological gifts to program recipients, at a value of more than $750 million.
The ecogift recipient designation allows MLCS to work together with more landowners and explore the possibilities of conservation in the Powell River area.
In the meantime, as part of Earth Month, the conservancy has organized a community discussion about Stillwater Bluffs for the evening of Monday, April 18, at Vancouver Island University Powell River Campus, room 148. Everyone is welcome to attend this facilitated event, that starts at 7 pm.
The event is intended to establish a realistic picture of what capacity the community has to engage property owners in a potential negotiation for the land.
For more information about MLCS, call 604.485.0077 or email [email protected]. More information about the EGP is available at ec.gc.ca.
Janet Southcott is the president of Malaspina Land Conservancy Society.
